"I think science is an end in itself, but if you can help people in the community with the work you do, that is really spectacular."

-- Former Gov. Jeb Bush

Former Gov. Jeb Bush was in Jupiter Tuesday for an invitation-only panel to discuss how the just-completed Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience was born, and to explain why his administration helped direct nearly $1.5 billion in federal, state and local tax money into incentives for research institutes.

The use of tax money for business incentives has been controversial, but it’s a topic Bush embraced as something necessary to diversify the state’s economy, on the shortest possible timetable.

“You can grow it yourself, and I am way too impatient for that, or you can reach out to the best institutions in the world and create an environment for them to come,” which is what Florida did, he said. “It’s a huge investment, but it’s an investment in long-term things.”